Gaucin Holidays

In the Ronda Mountains, Andalucia

For those wanting a holiday within easy reach of the sea and yet who dread the prospect of an apartment block in the sweltering, busy resorts of the Costa del Sol, to the rescue comes “the illustrious, always noble, very hospitable village of Gaucin.”

Small and pretty, Gaucin is one of Andalusia’s most popular “white villages.” It sits 630 metres above sea level, from where it surveys the Strait of Gibraltar, the Rock itself and Morocco across the water (see location on Ronda map).

The climate is Mediterranean and the coast is only half an hour away.
 

A special village for your holidays in southern Spain

Even more than the proximity to Mediterranean beaches, it is Gaucin's easy-going village ambience that most people appreciate.

You can feel at home in no time and soon find your way around. It’s also a good location for walks, apart at the height of summer when it’s simply too hot. You will pass through hillsides of chestnut, carob, olive and oak, with the blue sea glistening in the distance. The best selection of circular walks from Gaucin is about to be published in book form by local hiking enthusiasts.

The views are superb: countryside, valley, sea and all the way across to the Rif Mountains in Morocco. The village seems to be hitched up in its mountain setting, from where it faces south towards the Mediterranean.

Many houses have roof terraces to take advantage of the panorama and a number of these, above all in the old quarter of town, have been renovated to provide self-catering tourist accommodation. Some of them are delightful, others struggle to make the grade; it’s advisable to book with a reputable agency (it doesn't have to be Rustical Travel) that has carried out inspections and made a pre-selection of properties.
 




Smugglers used to hide out in Gaucin with their contraband of tobacco and brandy after sneaking their way through the surrounding hills. The strategic location was important to the Romans who founded the village, the Moors who occupied it for 700 years and the Catholic Spanish who made it into a refuge from bandits in the 18th and 19th centuries.
 
These days a look-out is more likely to be kept by birdwatchers, who descend on Gaucin at various times of the year to see a host of species including colourful golden orioles, bee-eaters and hoopoes, as well as raptors, vultures and eagles. Kestrels nest in Gaucin’s medieval convent. Walkers and birdwatchers often make daytrips to Grazalema Natural Park, one hour away, where the terrain is a rambler’s delight and both golden and Bonelli’s eagles can be seen.

Alcornocales Natural Park is closer by and encompasses the beautiful village of Jimena de la Frontera, 30 minutes away.

Horse riding is available at stables outside the village. There are also tennis courts and an excellent municipal swimming pool that opens during the summer months.

Gaucin’s Ronda Mountain area is peppered with little villages and many driving routes are possible.





We suggest the easy drive round through Montejaque and Benaojan villages, continuing south to La Pileta cave,
where prehistoric paintings and fossilized Stone Age skeletons were discovered in 1905.
 




 

Ronda is another major attraction.

The historic small city of museums, interesting shops, and the oldest bullring in Spain, all divided by a bridge over a yawning chasm, is 40 minutes away.



Gaucin itself is presided over by an old castle that was originally Roman and then enlarged by the Arabs. It is easily reached by foot up through the village streets.


“Eagle Castle” is open most days and there’s no entrance charge. Concerts are occasionally held here. There’s also a minor ethnographic museum that not even the 2,000 locals are generally aware of.